artist biography

Olivia Stephan was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1987. Stephan works predominantly in the medium of painting. Her work centres around the theme of memory.

In 2005 Stephan graduated from the Frank Joubert Art and Design Centre, with a distinction in Graphic Art. She has completed part time courses in Digital Photography, Graphic Design, and Animation. She also completed a Diploma in Fine Art, at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Cape Town in 2009. During her final year at Ruth Prowse, she entered the Sanlam Private Investments Innovation Awards, and won the Fine Art category. 

The following year Stephan exhibited at the AVA in the Greatest Hits of 2009 exhibition. In 2011 She was one of the top 20 finalists in the Lovell Gallery Artists Competition. She has participated in group exhibitions at the Wessel Snyman Creative, Hoodwinx, and Salon 91. Recently she has completed a Desktop Publishing Course at Friends of Design: Academy of Digital Arts, which included training in the Adobe Creative Suite, and Finishing Art for Designers.

Stephan’s work has been reviewed online by Visi, One Small Seed, and Trend Hunter; and was also featured in the Cape Times. She has paintings in several private collections, and lives and works in Cape Town.